I don’t know what it is, but it seems like it takes me about a year to feel like I’m finally at home in a room. Before that, it can be a very frustrating time trying to cull a collection of furniture and accessories that makes a place feel right.

We’ve been working slowly room by room to get furniture upcycled and arranged to our liking and I think I finally hit my groove in the living room when I did some rearranging and art hanging last weekend. I’m actually amazed that almost everything in there is something that we already had in our house!

Now for some embarassing before photos. The floorplan came to me in a vision and when I got home from work motivated to start it I was not so motivated to clean.

I am warning you to be prepared.

That little wood side table was a gift from my mom and has become a catchall/eyesore in the living room. As you can see, it has a drill, a bouquet of flowers that Kyle gave me, a Wii case, some magazines, and a bra. You can’t even play a game of one-of-these-things-is-not-like-the-other with that assortment. Unless the tie that binds is that only the bouquet of flowers belongs in the living room.

This view of the living room isn’t so bad. Other than the part where it’s also not that clean. In this case, most of the mess is leftover productivity from the night before.

Now for what I did:

Swapped the small side table by the TV with the big side table by the couch

Moved the big side table to the wall to the left of the tv

Dragged the TV shelf out just a little so it would be the same depth as the big side table

Moved an arm chair in from upstairs to the space next to the big side table

Switched the couch and the loveseat

Painted some paintings to make a vignette to the left of the tv

Hung a gallery wall with some square photo frames we’ve been holding onto since Memorial Day

Are you following?

Of course not. But here at SoEclectic we don’t have a production budget that let’s us do sweet step-by-step animations so let’s just look at the after photos.

This is the gallery wall. We need to add some pictures to the frames but this is motivation enough to do that.

And the new chair + vignette that draws a little focus away from the TV. I’ll probably change that ampersand painting. Kyle’s not sold on it yet.

And the whole room.

What an incredible change! We’ve already been so much better about spending just a little bit of time in the evening cleaning it and last week I was so excited just to get home to it. Now to add photos to those frames and keep plugging away at the rest of it.

Every other summer or so my family visits Port Aransas, Texas for deep sea fishing. Well, the last time we were there was the summer Southern Living had designed their beautiful, new “Idea House” and so we set out to take a look. The home was three stories with two master suites, multiple outdoor living spaces, guest quarters, and multiple other bedrooms and bathrooms.

The interiors were designed by Tracery Interiors. There was so much inspiration and beauty packed into this house. Honestly, some elements of the interior design that I saw there I still think about and am inspired by today. Lately, I’ve been seeing photos from this house all over Pinterest and other blog features so it’s resurfaced for me and I still love it.

All of the bedrooms were styled and designed beautifully, but these two were my favorite.

The downstairs master bedroom color scheme was orange and white with some gray accents. The room had floor to ceiling windows with long white drapes on each window. The accent wall behind the bed had an orange and white stencil. It was awesome.

The master bathroom was right behind glass windows basically inside of the room. The curtains pulled for privacy but also opened completely to make one large space that felt very open. The bathroom had this large, white, floating soaker tub and carrera marble throughout. I still think about this room when I’m day dreaming about my ideal bathroom.

The second master bedroom was upstairs and I’ve seen this one all over Pinterest lately, too.

I loved the wall behind this bed because of how easily it could be changed out. It can be simplified with a couple of candles or full of art and finds from the beach (that’s just right outside the door). The versatility I love. Also, you have to look closely, but I’m in love with the layering of the rugs. There was a large jute rug that covered a lot of the floor and then on top of that was a contrasting Navajo rug placed just at the end of the bed. I’ve thought about this idea a million times, and I think it’s one of the easiest elements in this house you could emulate.

Parallel to the bed was the bathroom. This yellow barn door is such a cool design idea. I mean, I’m pretty sure seeing that vibrant color every morning would just make you smile, right?

Lastly, the kids space was amazing. In this photo you can see the twin beds all tucked away in the wall. They could sleep at least three little kiddos and the curtains could be pulled closed on all of the beds. And that long rug is awesome.

It was so hard pick just these rooms to feature here, so you have to hop over to Southern Living and see the rest.

I don’t think that I’ve mentioned before why I do these “Home Inspired” posts, but it’s because each photo that I post here makes me think of something in a new way. A lot of the elements in the rooms/photos that I write about you might think to yourself, “I’ve been seeing that in the design world for months” and you’ll probably be right. But when I post an inspiring photo of decor here, it’s because something in the photo or article makes me think about an element of design in a different way than I have before. It can be a piece of furniture, a basket, a tree, or a hammock.

So, this post and photo are no different. I’m so inspired by the warmth and comfort of this room. It just feels like somewhere you can go and relax. No rules, stuffiness or discomfort allowed; which, I hope my house always feels that way. The hammock is just awesome with all its colorfulness. Love it.

On a recent trip home from work, I decided to stop in at my local Goodwill. It’s literally right down the street and within walking distance. I stop in there often to just see what they have. I usually walk out empty handed or with thoughts running through my head about furniture I just saw (i.e. I wonder what that would look like blue or how could I make that piece work).

Well my last trip started to seem like it would be no different. I walked the aisles of furniture and decided I would take another quick look back through.

Here’s how the conversation I had with myself went on my second trip back down the aisles:

“Wait, what’s that? No way, is that…is that a Cedar Chest? Hmm..

(pulls out said chest) Okay, the outside’s not too bad. Hmm, what about the inside?

For the next ten minutes, I pulled it out, opened it up, turned it over, and just stood there trying to calm myself down to having rational thoughts. After quickly deciding it was for sure coming home with me, I didn’t move from that spot. I just waited for a Goodwill employee to walk by, and he did. He had to go get a cart for me to tote it out. At the register the cashier asked what it was so that she could type it into the computer. The guy helping me said “Um, a box” I thought, “if you only knew buddy.”

Okay, I’ll admit. My freakout over this cedar chest was a little nuts. But living in Austin and seeing what they go for, is what informed my decision to grab it up. I knew it wasn’t going to last long once it was displayed better.

Once I got it home, and the fella and I examined it a little bit closer. I realized, sadly, that the bottom had to come off. We just took out the screws and the ones that were too deep we had to break off the wood to get to them. As you can see, the damage was pretty bad on the base. It was broken, some worm holes, and quite a bit of water damage. Not to mention a lot of the veneer had started to come off. If I could have saved the base, I would have. Because removing it significantly decreases the value of the piece. That’s okay with me though. I’m not planning on re-selling it anytime soon.

After a quick clean up with diluted white vinegar, liquid detergent, and then a polish with beeswax, it looks so lovely in its new home. I’m on the hunt now for new legs.

After doing some research, I discovered that my chest was manufactured on May 16, 1950. That meant that the day after I bought it, it turned 61 years old. Such an awesome discovery.

Also, I left the original marketing stapled to the inside. How awesome is that typography?

Do you have any treasures that made you freak out upon discovery? Please tell me that you do, because I’d really like to not be the only crazy out there! Also, if you know where to buy some cool legs for this chest send them my way. I’m considering these after I saw them on Retro Renovation.

After seeing this home tour on Design Attractor, I’m constantly thinking about that metal card catalog type piece. I know these are all over the place and people love them. But this particular one, I can’t stop thinking about. It’s such a wonderful piece.

This is the home of Danish Designer Birgitte Rabens. Although these rooms aren’t typically what I’d go for, I still love them. The usage of the wood, mixed with the leather, mixed with various metals is really pretty to me. Also, growing up in Texas has given me an affinity for cacti and after seeing this I’m really wanting some succulents around here! I’m inspired by the placement of the letters on the bottom right of the first photo. Such a small detail but I’m liking the idea of them not having to be on the walls.

Have you seen this yet? I think it’s been floating around the blogosphere a bit since it was posted on Shelterpop at the beginning of May.

Charlize Theron’s house was put up for sale recently and it is just stunning. I mean, your house should be stunning if it’s listed for $7 million, right? The photos of the house are really beautiful, but this one in particular caught my eye.

I just think it’s so pretty. It’s got everything I love in a beautiful room. Dark wood, big rugs, arches, sunlight, worn leather, pillows, clean lines, white, and a fire place. But mostly what pushes this photo over the edge for me is the seating around the fireplace. Those built in benches are uniquely awesome. What’s also noteworthy about this space is that I can imagine sitting here with a room full of people or all alone with hot coffee and a magazine (most likely next to that fire). Oh, and with a quilt- of course.

Welcome to So Eclectic

So Eclectic is a blog dedicated to great ideas for home design. Austin, Texas-based writer Mary Marcum and Savannah, Missouri-based writer Jess Rezac feature affordable decor, decorating solutions, and inspiration. At So Eclectic, we experiment with design together. So Eclectic posts new content every weekday.